Syndicate's Co-Op Mode Acknowledgment of Original, Says Devs

3463

News of a new Syndicate game had a few of us here on staff rather eager about the possibility of co-operating together in a cybernetically enhanced future, though there was some concern over how that would fare when it was revealed that the game would be a FPS instead of a tactical shooter. Nick got a few more details and information at the hands-on event he attended, and in a recent blog post and interview with Eurogamer magazine, the game's developers have revealed a bit more.

When speaking with Eurogamer, EA Partners executive producer on Syndicate, Jeff Gamon, had this to say about the co-op aspect of the game:

Co-op for us was always equal partners in this. It wasn't about, we need to tick a box here. This is Syndicate. We're Starbreeze, so we're going to do a single-player campaign with a great narrative, really immersive, but it was a given to us this was going to be equal partner in the billing, with the co-op mode recreating that experience of the original game.

It's always encouraging to hear from the game's developers that co-op is being given the same consideration as the rest of the game. While the co-op mode will be different than the single-player campaign, it does seem to offer up a great chance for friends to come together and take down some enemy agents and other key objectives. The rest of the article goes into a rather interesting point about whether or not truly single-player games are dead and that some form of multiplayer is expected these days; which undoubtedly includes co-op within this context.

In addition to those statements from Jeff, producer Ben O'Donnell had this to say a few weeks ago on the EA Developer Diary site:

One thing everyone on the team agrees to is that COOP was a way for us to really acknowledge the legacy of the original game. Of course the 4 agents in the original game made the 4 player COOP a no brainer, but the team didn’t want to stop there. Using locations from the original game and creating a weapon upgrade system are just some of the many ways we have tried to weave in the heritage of the original Syndicate.

He goes on to say that it wasn't only the original that served as inspiration for this reboot, but other co-op titles that have certainly been favorites here at Co-Optimus: Borderlands and Left 4 Dead. News of this caliber has me getting even more excited for this title. As a fan of the original, the trailers we've seen to date certainly make the single-player seem like a great time, but I've been a bit iffy on the co-op aspect. With this, I can definitely say that February may shape up to be a great month for co-op between this and the gravity flipping Inversion.